It appears that Ridgelawn Memorial Cemetery might finally get another entrance/exit to its 11-acre property along W. Burdick St.
Last week, the Oxford Village Council voted 5-0 to pursue licensing, maintenance and road construction agreements that would allow a piece of municipal-owned land at Dayton and Willow streets to be transformed into a secondary ingress/egress for the cemetery. The issue will go to the planning commission for review and a recommendation.
‘I have no objection to going forward with it,? said village President Sue Bossardet. ‘I think it’s something that’s needed.?
‘I don’t see any negatives about this, only positives,? said Councilman Tom Kennis.
Right now, the only way in and out of the cemetery is a single driveway on W. Burdick St.
If approved, this proposed access road would be used by the cemetery as a way for delivery and emergency vehicles to access it when needed and as an exit for vehicles leaving large burial services and special cemetery events such as Wreaths Across America and Memorial Day observances, both of which happen once a year.
The village owns a strip of unimproved right-of-way on the south side of the intersection of Dayton and Willow streets. It’s bordered by Ridgelawn to the south and by houses on the east and west sides.
According to Chris Acheson, who manages the cemetery that’s been owned and operated by his family since 1927, Ridgelawn has been trying to turn this piece of village land into an access road for decades, but the project has always encountered various roadblocks that prevented it from happening.
That’s why he’s cautiously optimistic about council’s decision.
‘I’m glad we’re moving forward, but I don’t know what the end result is going to be,? said Acheson, who’s reserving judgment until he sees everything written down.
Village attorney Bob Davis proposed the municipality retain ownership of the property, but require, via agreements, the cemetery to pay for the construction and maintenance of a gated access road.
The village could then license, again via an agreement, the ‘limited use? of this road to the cemetery, he said.
Not only would the village get a piece of public property improved at virtually no cost to the taxpayers, but the village would still maintain control of it and be able to dictate how it’s used by the cemetery.
‘The licensing agreement process gives you the most latitude to impose conditions and to negotiate conditions,? Davis explained. ‘You can impose (conditions on) how traffic is dispatched (and) timing. There are no restrictions on the amount of things you can reach accord on and put into a licensing agreement. So, it can be well thought out.?
He told council to think of the licensing agreement as a ‘blank slate? right now.
Davis said the nice thing about licensing agreements is they give the village enforcement and revocation rights to ensure the licensee is adhering to the rules.
‘Licenses can be revoked if there are issues,? he noted.
The licensing agreement and the gate would prevent the access road from being used for purposes not related to cemetery business or emergency situations.
‘This is not just going to be a thoroughfare,? Davis said.
‘It’s not going to be open (all the time) so everybody can just come in one drive, pass through (the cemetery) and go out the other,? Acheson told this reporter.
It wouldn’t even be used that often for cemetery purposes, according to Acheson.
‘I would say not more than twice a month, if that,? he said. ‘I would say not even twice every two months because we don’t have that many large funerals.?
Local public safety agencies have no issue with this access road being created.
‘The fire department would like to have this and the police department is supportive of this,? Davis told council.
In a Jan. 7 e-mail to the village, Oxford Fire Chief Pete Scholz wrote, ‘The Oxford Fire Department has expressed our opinion in the past and still holds that an additional ingress/egress is vital to public and private life safety and property protection.?
‘The current entrance (on W. Burdick St.) is extremely difficult to access with fire apparatus,? Scholz continued. ‘In the event of a funeral with only one way in and out, the access to the residence (in the cemetery) or the ability to reach a patient in the event of an emergency medical (situation) is extremely difficult, if not prohibitive. In the event of a fire, the rear entrance from Dayton would be the only means of getting a tanker close to the structure.?
There is a house located inside the cemetery.
Bossardet views the lack of emergency access as a ‘health, safety and welfare? issue that must be dealt with by the village.
‘That falls on us,? she said. ‘If you have an area that’s not accessible (for emergency purposes), then I think that we have a problem.?
Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth asked whether such an access road conflicted with the village’s zoning ordinance, which states that cemetery entrances ‘should be? off major or collector streets.
Dayton and Willow are neither.
Davis indicated that he hadn’t personally looked into that issue, but, ‘the (village) engineer does not believe it conflicts with your zoning ordinance.?
The attorney explained this would not be a standard cemetery entrance. It would be a ‘secondary ingress and egress? that’s gated and used only for specific purposes.
‘So, I don’t think it’s just considered an entrance/exit,? he said.
Dayton St. resident Bonnie Staley, who was appointed to the village planning commission at this same meeting, expressed her concern about allowing delivery trucks to access the cemetery this way and their potential negative impact on local streets.
‘I can’t see trucks coming up and down (that street),? she said.
‘Our roads are already deteriorating,? according to Staley, due to cut-through traffic generated by drivers wishing to avoid the traffic signal at Washington and Burdick streets.
‘Pleasant St. is terrible to drive on already and now you want trucks to come on Pleasant St. and Dayton St.,?? she said.
‘I know I speak for everyone on Dayton St. and probably Pleasant St. (as well),? Staley added. ‘If you lived there, you’d probably have concerns as well.?
Acheson pointed out the cemetery usually gets only one delivery each year and that’s the wreaths for the Wreaths Across America ceremony in December.
‘Once in a while, they come with a short tractor-trailer,? he told this reporter. ‘Most of the time it’s a FedEx (truck) or something like that.?
Dayton St. resident Mike Stoll, who lives next door to the proposed access road, expressed opposition to the proposal.
‘We’ve already done a poll in the neighborhood. It’s 98 percent ‘no,?? he said. ‘Nobody in the neighborhood wants that road to come out there.?
Stoll thinks it’s a bad idea to direct ‘bereaved? drivers ‘onto a street with no sidewalks? and kids playing.
Acheson told this reporter the proposed access road would not be used as an exit for every single burial service at the cemetery, only the larger ones with, for example, 50 vehicles.
‘That’s when I want to have the option for both ways (to exit),? he said.
Smaller services with only a few vehicles would continue to exit onto W. Burdick St.
‘We’re not going to open it for six cars,? Acheson told this reporter.
Because Dayton is a residential street, Bossardet indicated she would want the cemetery to have someone out there directing traffic following a burial service to prevent people from ‘racing? through the neighborhood. She would want there to be a ‘structured exit.?
Davis noted such a requirement could be included in the licensing agreement.
Stoll was under the impression that neighborhood residents would be voting on whether to approve the proposed access road.
Bossardet informed him it’s strictly the council’s decision, but ‘as best we can, we’re going to work with the neighborhood? to ‘try and address all your concerns.?